Stop the Madness is a collection of essays recording my thoughts during a transformative period in my life. It is about how the world became what it is and what we must do for human civilization to survive.
The central task is to abandon the illusion of separation.
Our children only can have freedom and security if we do. War will become unthinkable when we abandon the self-fulfilling prophecy that it is inevitable.

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Tuesday, September 1, 2009

CHAPTER SEVENTY SEVEN. THE TECTONIC PARADIGM SHIFT

This essay is devoted to the unknown author of the Biblical text found in John 8:32: Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Few truths are as self evident as this. The international elite who are the self-appointed Masters of the Universe and their puppets in the US government are tightening their grip on the people of the United States. They do this to "protect" citizens who appear willing to trade their freedom for the illusion of secruity. Meanwhile, the international coporate terrorists who control the foreign policy of the U.S. expand the dominion of their corporate Empire by preemptive war on defenseless nations, while citizens who consider themselves politically aware waste their efforts arguing about which of the two corporate parties of the Duopoly best represents their interests.

Citizens of the U.S. and other western nations hope to be on the "winning" side in the dawning New World Order whose horrors they do not yet comprehend. These are people who still believe in the concept of nations in a time when international corporations are replacing governments in deciding the fate of the world. Those individuals who are taking all of us down this path blindly accept the proposition that life is an eternal competition for survival. They perpetuate this myth to maintain their power by playing on the hopes and fears of gullible citizens who naively expect the defeat of terror at the price of their own liberty.

The idea that life is inherently a struggle between contending self-interests is a fallacy. The result of failing to challenge this illusory vision of human nature would be the destruction of human civilization as we know it. Only by working together in the interest of humanity as a whole can we assure that the sins of our fathers will not be visited upon our sons and daughters.

It may seem that things are getting worse at this point in history, but it all depends on your point of view. If we focus on the continuing acts of reckless greed that are threatening the world economy, causing seemingly endless war and creating conditions for mass starvation, pandemic and increasingly frequent and severe environmental catastrophes, it is natural to conclude that human civilization may be already doomed. However, if we focus on the many positive signs that people are awakening and remember that our numbers give us the potential strength to resist enslavement in a permanent fascist New World Order, we will see things differently. It is only by going through the pain of the adolescence of humanity that we can learn from the mistakes of generations before us and give up the illusions of childhood. When we do, humanity will finally mature as a society of adults, ready to accept the responsibility of caring for our fragile species and leave a legacy of hope, peace and proseprity for our progeny.

Some compare humanity to a cancer, growing unchecked by natural barriers to growth and threatening to kill the organism from which it arose. However, unlike mindless cells or parasitic organisms, humans have the ability to direct their own evolution. We can choose to act to save our civilization by adapting not physically, but psychologically and spiritually to the threats we have created by our stubborn beliefs in dangerous ideas. We must abandon the belief in the supremacy of individual will over social needs and the idea that life is a zero-sum game in which only the strongest prosper, at the expense of the many. Failure to evolve our consciousness through an act of collective will and effort would be tantamount to mass suicide.

Transforming human consciousness may seem grandiose but it is not. Every major shift in human civilization started with an idea. If an idea has the power to capture the imagination of the multitudes and change how they interact with one another and with the natural world, change is inevitable. Those who argue that the dangerous beliefs that threaten our collective survival are "human nature" are mistaken. If their is one thing that can be said about human nature it is that it can be expressed in as many different ways as their are humans. The many men and women who have already realized the key to saving human civilization is to live up to the ideal of "liberty and justice for all" proves that the capacity to do so lies within each of us.

The very evolutionary pressures caused by human-caused global climate change have the potential to drive the shift in human consciousness that can save us. The threat of imminent demise may be what saves us. If we respond quickly enough, untold millions will die but human civilization may survive, chastened and changed for the better by its near-death experience.

Only when we are forced to challenge our most deeply held misconceptions will we succeed. The change has begun. It is almost imperceptible, as any exponential change is at first. However, it is a characteristic of exponential growth that at some point the rate of change grows so rapidly that transformation seems to have come from nowhere, like an algal bloom on a pond that appeared clear the day before. With the power of the internet, our ability to communicate is amplified manyfold. People across the world struggling to find a way to change the course of human destiny can talk to each other directly. Through such personal interactions we can teach each other to reject the notion that conflict is inevitable. We can build a united international front against fascism and war at the grassroots level.

When a critical mass of people come to understand that our interdependence dictates that what is best for each of us is what is best for all of us, we will witness a tectonic paradigm shift in human consciousness. When we put aside the self-imposed distinctions that keep us from recognizing our common identity, consensus reality will change. Only then will democracy be truly possible. The most important lies that we tell ourselves are those that conceal the evil acts of leaders in government. Acceptance of atrocities as natural by the people in the nations whose governments commit them makes them complicit in these crimes against humanity. We can and must change the paradigm of consensus reality that accepts enslavement of people in weaker nations by powerful governments run in the interests of international corporations. The change begins when the individual accepts the interdependence of each of us with each other and the planet itself, but it can only become an exponential process if each of us dedicates ourself to awakening those around us to this reality.

Having come to understand that the survival of human civilization itself is in danger, each of us who have awakened must translate our understanding into political action, however we believe our efforts are best spent. Americans can begin to accept their responsibility to future generations by demanding a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to investigate the constitutional violations by the Cheney regime that have sown the seeds of fascism in the United States. These have laid the ground for wars of choice to maintain the powerful oil interests that put them in office, wars that continue under the Obama administration.

As of this writing, it remains to be seen whether President Obama intends to address global climate change that is threatening human civilization or whether he intends to offer any resistance to those who would subjugate the world through fear and threat of perpetual war. In seeking to move forward without looking at how we got to where we find ourselves, he is continuing down a path of self-destruction.

In the process of creating democracy in America so that it might flourish in the world, Americans must demand transparency and accountability for the crimes of those in the U.S. government and the shadow government who create conditions to justify wars of choice. This will entail declassifying documents hidden from public view under the Orwellian logic of “state security.” The leaders who have treasonously betrayed us and used war to further the interests of international corporations and those who benefit from these crimes against humanity must face our collective judgment.

The list of these crimes includes the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, the murder of democratic leaders throughout the world and the Iraq and Afghanistan invasions and occupations designed to make the chosen among the US aristocracy the rulers of a slave planet. War is the ultimate betrayal of humanity. That it persists in a world where there is only one superpower makes a mockery of the claim that the U.S. is a democracy. In a democracy, a free People who know the truth about what the goverment is doing in their name would not permit it to prey upon the rest of the world to benefit those who pay to put elected officials in power.

The true enemies of freedom are those stateless actors of the corporatocracy who direct the U.S. government and military to achieve their plans of world domination. The vast majority of elected officials in the U.S. are guilty of giving material aid to these international corporate terrorists and are thus guilty of treason. The idea of concluding an investigation with prosecutions is thus a fantasy. No serious investigation will ever take place if those in power had to face the same consequences as those they deem enemies of the state.

In the end, we must punish only those who lie to the Commission or there will never be an end to recriminations. Peace and freedom on Earth depend on facing the truth about what we have allowed our government to do in our name, then forgiving but never forgetting. Any American who has not devoted themselves to ending the crime of war and its attendant evils shares some measure of blame. No matter how heinous the crime, only by forgiveness can we hope to move on to a future where all participate in the salvation of an otherwise doomed planet. Vengeance will only breed the pursuit of more vengeance by the vanquished.

Let's end the Civil War that has raged in the US for decades and establish true representative democracy. Only then will we have the moral authority that will enable us to spread freedom, justice and peace throughout the world by our own example where we have failed to do so at the barrel of a gun. We must have some sympathy for the devil within all of us and find a way to forgive those who are have acted out of shortsighted, narrowly defined self-interest. We have all at times let selfish considerations into our hearts and allowed them to guide our actions. When we free ourselves from the this self-imposed enslavement of our minds, we will free ourselves from a desire for revenge that would only breed resistance to our efforts to create a world where our children can live free of fear of want and oppression.

In the immortal words of John Lennon:

When I find myself in times of trouble,Mother Mary comes to me,speaking words of wisdom.Let it be, let it be.

And in my hour of darknessshe is standing right in front of me,speaking words of wisdom.Let it be, let it be.

Whisper words of wisdom,let it be, let it be.

When the broken hearted peopleliving in the world agree,there will be an answer,let it be, let it be.

And when the night is cloudy,there is still a light that shines on me.Shine on till tomorrow,Let it be, let it be.

I wake up to the sound of music,Mother Mary comes to me,speaking words of wisdom,Let it be, let it be.

Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be.There will be an answer, let it be.Let it be, let it be, let it be, yeah, let it be.Whisper words of wisdom, let it be.

6 comments:

I like the forgiveness instead of revenge. Did Lennon write these words? I associate them with Paul because he sang them. Again, as I pointed out in the Facebook dialogue, you misleadingly call these corporate carpetbaggers Masters of the Universe. No way. The Universe is a living entity in which cause and effect is strict and never violated. All the causes they make are at their own peril. Nobody, I repeat, nobody, owns the universe, let alone is its master. The only master there is is the person who is completely humbled and openminded, someone who unflinchingly seeks out truth, trains himself in the law of cause and effect that permeates all life, recognizes the inherent equality and balance that is in all things, and acts in accordance, even when personal feelings and the illusions of the mind fight one. Mastery, in the final analysis, is only mastery over one's own mind. Never over others. That is a conceit and an illusion that leads only to endless slavery in continuous realms of suffering. There is no freedom in such.

In other essays I refer to the international corporate terrorists as the "self-appointed" Masters of the Universe. In no way do I agree with their inflated opinion of themselves. In fact, we are going to take them down. How's that for open minded?

We owe it to those who have died in the name of freedom, our children and posterity to ensure that the fascist New World Order does not become a permanent one.

The Universe may abide, but in this moment the fate of human civilization hangs in the balance.

I think I stated before we share some passions. My professional background can be found logon to linkedin.com or Fb First Approach Worksite Wellness Co. I attempted to work from within to correct the Tort activity conducted at the VA. They found some outside sources and have held me hostage for more than twenty yrs. I just was appointed Counselor Emeritus by N.Y.S. Mental health. Still do not want to be a whistle-blower for I don't know who I might hurt professionally. The problems are admin. and clinical. However I will remain proactive advocate, working in partnership to produce some correction,change in mental health and behavioral health wellness. Please comment and post whangcommunicationproduction.com Its a Civil Rights Blog. Thanks, really good to partner with a MD.

Thanks, I will do that. I am curious to hear more about your story. Sorry I don't check for comments often or I would have responded earlier.

I have been a whistleblower in the VA when necessary because I found out that is the only way to effect change in a top-down organization that covers up its mistakes rather than addressing them in too many cases.

Rick, could it be that the notion of the integral right for the 'pursuit of happiness' has conditioned the average individual as a 'psychological, pleasure junky'? From the most insignificant and banally benign activities, the predisposition to have pleasure than endure any pain for the ABSTRACT justice for an other has so leeched through the pedestrian ethos, that mass, affected emoting by gestures replaces any proactive commitment for anything greater? This is compounded by the aggrandizing predations of grand and petty exploitative abuse for those who labor for others to the point that 'TGIF' and the weekend spectacles are the mental and emotional sanctuaries for a spent and used body and soul?The apathy to shallow commitment is a reflection of a social structure and function which disempowers the many so they may be servants, and thus default their personal prerogative to secular, institutional third parties. All they have left of empowerment is the satiation of compensation to just feel, not reflect or have solidarity in a common resolution to things 'beyond their pay-grade'.The 'pedagogy' of socializing and being acculturated reduces individual to esoteric fetishes of 'pleasure' that keeps them occupied and not the subject for any critical attention that would jeopardize their economic security?Bravery becomes, existentially, an application to some form of martyrdom for later patronizing by the many, as the anonymous spectrum of the few perceptive and insightful are left to their wilderness of thoughts and scenarios for effectual action?Yes, many innocent will die for the perverse reason of trust and faith in the ineffectual, than take the challenge of HISTORY of being that INSTRUMENTALITY that forged a new compelling architecture on the minds and emotions of civilization

I don't think it is the idea of pursuit of pleasure as a right that is the problem. That is a natural tendency, regardless of whether one considers it a right or not. For most people, it is just a matter of whether it is possible. If pleasure is possible without causing apparent harm, most people will seek it.

The problem is that most people don't really think about the indirect effects of their actions. That is why they support evil with such apathy. It is also why they do not think they have any power. We all have power to affect the people around us, for better or worse. We can model kindness and compassion, or selfishness and greed. We can greet strangers with a smile or a snarl.

I think the real problem is that people in wealthier nations fail to see the suffering that their lifestyle causes other people. If there were some way they could be made to see that their "happiness" depends on the misery of people around the world who go hungry while their human and material resources are destroyed to feed the capitalist monster, there might be hope that they could change before their own conditions worsen to the point that they realize they too are slaves.

About Me

I am a former VA psychiatrist who resigned to run for the US Senate in 2010 on a pledge to introduce a Constitutional amendment to reform campaign finance.
I have a BS from Portland State University in Biology and Psychology. I worked in a county mental health agency after serving in the Army and trained in Albany, NY and Albuquerque, NM.
I am interested in history, philosophy, psychology, comparative religion and a variety of other disciplines.
I now work full time for the educational nonprofit Take Back America for the People and with an anarchical world network of justice activists, Soldiers For Peace International. As Soldiers For Peace, our mission in the US is to help Americans understand the need to establish democracy in the US by working to amend the constitution to ban corporate campaign expenditures, limit individual contributions to influence elections and abolish corporate personhood.
SFPI and TBA are meant to help create a united international front against fascism and war by helping create a Tectonic Paradigm Shift in human consciousness to one in which it is implicitly recognized that the fate of each of us is intimately related to the destiny of all of us.